conference proceedings - Australian Army

122
THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY AND THE VIETNAM WAR 1962–1972
operations had to be cleared beforehand with the local Vietnamese authorities and the
VC had infiltrated their organisations. This meant of course that we could usually count
on a reception from the local VC who had had ample time to prepare for our arrival.
Our radio frequencies often did not match those of US or ARVN units, which meant
that it was difficult for us to contact them if they were firing at us. We were mistaken
for VC on several occasions because they wore similar floppy hats to us, or because
when seen from the air we did not move like US units.
Radios were not provided below platoon level, which was a problem for Platoon
Commanders when we deployed sections out for searches. If a section had a contact,
it had no way of letting the Platoon Commander know what was happening. I bought
walkie-talkies for my platoon but they did not last long in the wet conditions. Command
and control was also difficult in secondary jungle because of the poor visibility.
Maintaining dry underwear was a problem, particularly in the rainy season or in wet
areas. We were resupplied once a week during operations with shirts and trousers that
we had packaged up beforehand, but we had to carry changes of socks and underwear.
Socks and underwear took a long time to dry out and were causing skin infections so
we just stopped wearing them. Carrying wet and dirty underwear around in our packs
with our food was also unsavoury. By the time the rainy season had ended, not wearing
socks and underwear had become a habit. Needless to say, I reverted back to underwear
when I returned to Australia!
The heaviest items you carry as an infantryman are ammunition and explosive
ordnance, water, and engineer stores. Diggers would usually try to take too much
ammunition on operations, particularly after an action in November 1965 when we ran
low during a protracted engagement with a VC company. The problem with carrying
too much weight was that it reduced an individual’s efficiency and increased fatigue
levels.
Water is consumed heavily on patrol in the tropics but streams were frequent, so we
would carry two water bottles (the larger British issue ones were preferred), one with
stream water and one with drinking water. The stream water would be used for brews.
We also carried purification tablets but treated water was not popular because of its taste.
None of us ever became sick from drinking stream water. The main problem with the
streams was the leaches, which latched on to you anywhere near a stream.
At the end of operations we would normally make for a designated LZ for helicopter
extraction. We did not know how many helicopters would arrive so I usually held off
assigning soldiers to helicopters until the last minute. The alternative was continually
to change the arrangements, which I found led to confusion. On at least a couple of
occasions, 1RAR soldiers were left behind at LZs because they were to be the last out,